I've read through the thread on the Tune-Bot and watched the Mike Johnston video promo, but I gather that the Tune-Bot device is not as user friendly as it would seem to be?

In general, what would you all recommend: the Tune-Bot or the new digital version of the Drum-Dial? I've used the old model of the Drum-Dial for years (with needle) and was thinking of upgrading to the digital version, and then came along my discovery of the Tune-Bot.

Just curious what folks think is the best mixture of reliability and ease of use--Drum Dial digital or Tune-Bot?

I've read through the thread on the Tune-Bot and watched the Mike Johnston video promo, but I gather that the Tune-Bot device is not as user friendly as it would seem to be?

Thanks for any feedback.

It's user friendly if you take the time to read and follow the directions. There's a good "how to" video on their website. Many of my drummer buds never read the directions and bugged me about using it. I referred them back to the video and directions.

I agree 100%, even steps from finger tight will get you closer than a drum dial.

Always supposing your tension rod threads, or indeed the threads in your lugs, are in perfect and matching condition. Oh, and also supposing your hand eye coordination and feel for guessing torque are up to scratch. Or that a washer is not binding or a hoop is not slightly bent.

Nowt wrong with the Drum Dial, it will get you in the ball park very quickly, with an evenly tensioned head. You can then tweak for the sound you want, whatever that may be.You can also, for quick head changes, make a note of readings and whack new heads up to tension quickly.

Some people have a great ear, and know exactly what they want to hear from each drum and can tune to what they want quickly, by ear alone. Sadly I am not one of them and my Drum Dial has been a big help. If it helps you, then use it, why not? Each to there own.

I would never advocate using a drum dial to someone who can tune to exactly what they want, by ear. Why do they insist on telling me not to use an aid I find useful?

I would also have to agree with this. I've used a Drum Dial for a few years now and it does pretty good with getting the drum pretty close to where you want it. Recently i discoverd the Tune Bot and even though i don't have one yet, i'm ready to retire the drum dial. It looks very easy to use and will actually tune the drum..to an extent anyway. There's really no comparison, get the tune bot.

On both, when you play the drum, there's two similar behaviours: 1. You have to tap the drum loud enough for the device/app to register the hit. 2. It takes a second or two for it to analyze the sound and display the result. The Tunebot has a red light that comes on when it registers the drum, and tuns off when it finishes its calculations and displays a result. So you know you hit the drum with the right intensity, and you know the device is working. It's easier to develop a consistent stroke that the Tunebot will recognize, and thus easier to get consistent results from the Tunebot. iDrumTune doesn't give any indicator that it heard you hit the drum, or that it's processing the result. So you hit the drum, you wait, and maybe you hit it hard enough, and maybe you didn't. No way to know. So you waste time analyzing the tuner and not the drum.

Secondly, the Tunebot has the filter button, and iDrumTune doesn't. Both devices have to sift through the myriad of different tones and overtones that the drum makes. So sometimes when you tap the drum, both the Tunebot and iDrumTune will display different notes depending on which overtone it registered most strongly on that tap of the drum. So you'll be tuning a tom, and one tap gives 100 Hz, and another gives 150 Hz, since it picked up different sets of overtones on each tap. But on the Tunebot, if you hit the Filter button, it displays the overtone that's closest to the filtered note. So tap the drum, get 100 Hz, hit Filter, and it will only display notes in that ballpark of 100 Hz. It works very well in practice. With iDrumTune, I don't get nearly as consistent results, as I sometimes have to tap the drum a few times to get the one overtone I'm targeting, which makes it harder to use.

As for a few thoughts on the Drum Dial, it still has use even with a Tunebot or iDrumTune. When doing head changes or when dealing with a massively out-of-tune head, I think it is a little faster to use a DD to even out the drumhead and then tune the drum with the tuner. The electronic solutions are less perfect filtering through a crazy mismash of overtones on a completely unevenly tuned head.